Olympic Peninsula - Hoh Rainforest and Ruby Beach

July 30, 2018

I am so tired today. I might have just hit travel overload. I'm spending 2 full days in Seattle and I can't seem to get my act together. I have done so much hiking and walking the past few days that my body has gone on strike. I have travelled over 8,500 miles in 40 days, 23 states and British Columbia, miles and miles of hikes (mostly uphill I feel), miles of walking and sightseeing, countless photos and incredible beauty. I've decided to take the morning off before I head out there to do some more exploring. Tomorrow, I'll be right back at it because I want to check out as much of Seattle as I can.

Yesterday was a wonderful but really LONG day. I had booked the 6:00 a.m. ferry out of Victoria to Port Angeles, Washington because I knew I wanted to spend the day on the Olympic Peninsula. Well, I didn't realize that because it is international travel, I had to be there 90 minutes early so up before 4:00 and down at the terminal at 4:30 a.m. I didn't get much sleep because, like a fool, I drank a whole pot of wonderful English tea at 6:00 p.m. so I maybe got 3 hours of sleep.

I watched the sun rise over Victoria as the ferry pulled out of the port. The light was golden and you could tell there was a wall of fog in the distance over Washington.

Most of the ride was in total fog (so much for whale watching) but it cleared a bit as we approached Port Angeles.

I then drove off the ferry and headed west on Highway 112 along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As I made my journey west, I realized that I started at the most eastern part of the continental United States and now I'm at the most western part. Pretty damned cool!!

My first stop was in Joyce at the General Store for some water and a hiking snack. This little place is filled with pretty much anything you could need at any point in your life. What a hoot!

I drove further and further west curving toward and away from the water on roads that have seen some storm damage in the not so distant past. I kept stopping and walking down paths and hills to the water below to take pictures of the shore with the fog creeping in.

Love the fog!

Finally, I was about as west as I could go and completely fogged in so turned around and came back to the 101 to get to one of my scheduled destinations, the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park. It is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the United States with about 148 inches of rain each year. Once I turned off the 101, this is the road I was on. Already impressive isn't it?

My apologies for all of the photos. I narrowed them down but there was just so much to see so I've included many of them.

Moss, lichen and ferns are growing everywhere and on everything so it gives the rainforest this lush softness. I kept my eye out for fairies and wood sprites.

The ferns are so soft and inviting...nap time?

This is an old growth forest so some of the trees are humungous! I was pretty much alone on my 3 mile hike so couldn't capture the perspective of how big some of the trees are.

I absolutely love the nurse trees. When a tree falls down, other plants begin rooting and growing into them because there is finally room and light for them to grow. Some trees are over 50 feet tall and you can tell they began on a nurse tree.

The the soft blue Hoh River runs right through the area.

I spent about 2 hours hiking the trails and hopped back into my trusty companion to head further west to the Pacific coast. First stop....Ruby Beach!

The parking lot sits high up and you have to make your way down to the beach below. At the bottom of the cliff you weave your way around all of the incredible trees and driftwood that has been washed up to this particular corner of the beach over many years.

Once I made my way down to the beach, I felt completely rejuvenated. I ended up staying here for quite a long time just soaking in the sound of the waves, the salty air, the warmer than expected water and the beauty of the fog kissing the land. I was in heaven!